Smithsonian’s African American Museum is Getting its Own U.S. Postage Stamp

TO CELEBRATE ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is being immortalized on a U.S. postage stamp. Based on a photograph of the David Adjaye-designed building, the stamp features a daytime image of the museum’s exterior. The Forever stamp will be available nationwide this friday.

“Black history is inseparable from American history, and the black experience represents a profound and unique strand of the American story. This stamp issuance recognizes the richness of that experience by celebrating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.,” the U.S. Postal Service said when it announced the stamp.

“Black history is inseparable from American history… This stamp issuance recognizes the richness of that experience by celebrating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.”
— U.S. Postal Service

NMAAHC was dedicated on Sept. 24, 2016. President Obama presided over the ceremony, ringing a historic church bell to officially open the museum, which features a special gallery dedicated to visual art. From that day forward, people from around the world have been clamoring to visit. Museum officials were expecting about 4,000 people a day, more than 8,000 are showing up. Nearly 3 million visited the first year.

“This has become more than a museum. This has become a pilgrimage site,” Lonnie Bunch, NMAAHC’s founding director told The Associated Press.

The new stamp is being introduced at a First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony at the museum on Oct. 13. CT

BOOKSHELF
The National Museum of African American History and Culture has been publishing books since before the museum officially opened. Double Exposure, a multi-volume series, features photography from the museum’s collection. Coinciding with the museum’s opening, two books commemorate the groundbreaking institution: National Museum of African American History and Culture: A Souvenir Book and Begin with the Past: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture. For young people, consider “How to Build a Museum: Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.”

A 20-stamp sheet of National Museum of African American History Forever stamps.

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